Cell and Discovery of the Cell ?

The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all living organisms. Every living thing is made of at least one cell. All life processes (respiration, digestion, reproduction, etc.) occur at the cellular level.

Discovery of the Cell:

Robert Hooke (1665):
English scientist Robert Hooke used a simple microscope to observe thin slices of cork and discovered tiny box-like compartments, which he called "cells" (because they resembled small rooms or cells of a monastery).

Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1674):
He observed living cells (bacteria and protozoa) for the first time using an improved microscope.

Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann (1830s):
They concluded that all plants and animals are made of cells.

Rudolf Virchow (1855):
He added that all cells arise from pre-existing cells.